After making a catch, Estero tight end Nick Nataro lunges for extra yards while Cypress Lake's Darryl Powell (3) moves in to make a tackle on Oct. 19, 2012 at Estero High School. Kevin Johnson/Staff

Rising Estero High School senior tight end Nick Nataro has decided to stay closer to home.

About 2,200 miles closer.

A couple weeks after attending South Florida's "Saturday Night Live" recruiting event, the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Nataro decommitted from Arizona, choosing to shift his verbal to the Bulls of Tampa on Wednesday night.

Nataro, who turned 17 on June 18, said after long talks with his dad, also named Nick, they decided Arizona's Tucson campus was just too far away for the youngster.

USF is only about a two-hour shot up Interstate 75, and Nataro said that's just right — close enough for friends and family to watch him play and far enough to grow on his own.

"It's almost a perfect distance," he said. "I'll get the full college experience while I'm not too far from home."

Immokalee's Jimmy Bayes also has verbally committed to USF.

Formerly a wide receiver, Nataro played his first campaign as a tight end in then-coach Rich Dombroski's high-octane offense last season, pulling in 44 receptions for almost 600 yards with six touchdowns. He's also considered a strong blocker, and Dombroski, now the coach at Immokalee, said he runs the 40 in 4.6 seconds.

ESPN and Scout rate Nataro a three-star recruit. ESPN ranks him as the 20th-best tight end in the country and third in the state. Scout calls him the 52nd-best tight end in the nation and fourth in Florida. Rivals rates him a two star.

Location was not the only thing that came into play with Nataro's switch. New USF coach Willie Taggart utilized tight ends a lot during his three seasons of leading Western Kentucky. Ditto for Stanford, where Taggart previously was an assistant.

"Their tight ends have been some of the most successful in college football," Nataro said.

Nataro said there were "a bunch of top-notch guys" at USF for the SNL event, "and I got a great feel for it there. It's a top-notch program and the offense is perfect for me."

Nataro was born in Spring Hill, which is just north of Tampa, and his family moved to Estero when he was 3.

"I've been a Florida boy my whole life," he said.

And although he visited Auburn and has an offer from Florida Atlantic, Nataro insisted he'll be a Bull his whole collegiate career.

"It's the right decision," Nataro said. "I feel perfectly comfortable. I wasn't pressured with this decision at all and I'm going to be sticking with it."